Earth and Mineral Sciences

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

Penn State experts in meteorology and atmospheric science made their way down the nation’s eastern coast in June 2024 in search of corona discharges, a long-hypothesized atmospheric weather phenomenon where miniscule pulses of electricity dance at the tips of tree leaves, causing the canopy to glow in the ultraviolet (UV). They found them and captured the phenomenon on film for the first time.

Treetops glowing during storms captured on film for first time | Penn State University

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Penn State experts in meteorology and atmospheric science made their way down the nation’s eastern coast in June 2024 in search of corona discharges, a long-hypothesized atmospheric weather phenomenon where miniscule pulses of electricity dance at the tips of tree leaves, causing the canopy to glow in the ultraviolet (UV). They found them and captured the phenomenon on film for the first time.

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Research

Treetops glowing during storms captured on film for first time

Penn State Centre Stage, in the College of Arts and Architecture, will present the 2026 Graduate Directing Festival, a dynamic showcase of emerging directors whose work reflects bold artistic vision, rigorous inquiry and collaborative storytelling.&nbsp;The festival features two compelling productions: “Detroit ’67,” April 16–18, and “My Fair Lady,” April 23–25. Both productions will be staged at the Penn State Downtown Theatre.

Centre Stage to present 2026 Graduate Directing Festival | Penn State University

Penn State Centre Stage, in the College of Arts and Architecture, will present the 2026 Graduate Directing Festival, a dynamic showcase of emerging directors whose work reflects bold artistic vision, rigorous inquiry and collaborative storytelling. The festival features two compelling productions: “Detroit ’67,” April 16–18, and “My Fair Lady,” April 23–25. Both productions will be staged at the Penn State Downtown Theatre.

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Arts and Entertainment

Centre Stage to present 2026 Graduate Directing Festival

Agricultural Sciences

College of Agricultural Sciences

Long before she led reforestation efforts in her native Lebanon, Maya Nehme was a graduate student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, researching ways to combat invasive species threatening forests. Even then, her vision extended beyond the lab — helping to inspire what would become the college’s international agriculture and development graduate dual-title degree program, known as INTAD.

College of Ag Sciences alumna’s legacy: Research and growing global impact | Penn State University

Long before she led reforestation efforts in her native Lebanon, Maya Nehme was a graduate student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, researching ways to combat invasive species threatening forests. Even then, her vision extended beyond the lab — helping to inspire what would become the college’s international agriculture and development graduate dual-title degree program, known as INTAD.

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College of Ag Sciences alumna’s legacy: Research and growing global impact

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Adopting, advancing and adapting to AI

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Around Campus

More research news

A team of Penn State researchers have created a novel approach to 3D printing bioelectrodes that can stretch and morph to fit the minor differences that make every brain unique.&nbsp;Using software to simulate detailed brains based on MRI scans, the team designed and 3D printed the electrodes, along with models of the brains. They report that their electrodes better fit the brain's structure than traditional designs while remaining effective and biologically compatible.

3D-printed brain sensors may unlock personalized neural monitoring | Penn State University

A team of Penn State researchers have created a novel approach to 3D printing bioelectrodes that can stretch and morph to fit the minor differences that make every brain unique. Using software to simulate detailed brains based on MRI scans, the team designed and 3D printed the electrodes, along with models of the brains. They report that their electrodes better fit the brain's structure than traditional designs while remaining effective and biologically compatible.

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3D-printed brain sensors may unlock personalized neural monitoring

A new study led by researchers in the Penn State College of Medicine suggests that school quality, family environment, race and maternal education — not prenatal opioid exposure — play a much larger role in academic outcomes for school-aged children.

Prenatal opioid exposure in babies doesn’t predict future classroom performance | Penn State University

A new study led by researchers in the Penn State College of Medicine suggests that school quality, family environment, race and maternal education — not prenatal opioid exposure — play a much larger role in academic outcomes for school-aged children.

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Planting grass groundcovers within the vineyard row can benefit vineyard soils and reduce the need for herbicide applications.

Simple vineyard growing practice impacts soil microbiome deep below surface | Penn State University

Planting grass groundcovers within the vineyard row can benefit vineyard soils and reduce the need for herbicide applications.

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Simple vineyard growing practice impacts soil microbiome deep below surface

Featured Research

A new study, led by a team from Penn State College of Medicine, found that when teenagers go to sleep and when they wake up may be the driving force behind what teenagers eat and how much they move. Teens who went to sleep later and woke up later were more likely to consume more calories, snack more and be less physically active — especially when in school compared to on break from school.

Study: Teens' sleep patterns affect their diet, exercise

A thick layer of haze around the ultra-low-density planet Kepler-51d likely obscures not only the strange planet’s composition, but also its origin, according to a new study. A team led by Penn State researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to take a deeper look at the “super-puff” planet that defies planetary formation models.

'Cotton candy’ planet hides its secrets beneath a massive layer of haze

Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers discovered that lightning-like discharge doesn’t require a storm cloud — it could be made inside everyday material on a lab bench.

Researchers make mini-lightning in a block of plastic

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi shared her thoughts in a new blog in Forbes highlighting the importance of valuing people in the age of AI — and how universities like Penn State are preparing students for the workplaces of the future.

Why People Are The Smartest AI Investment—And What It Means For Universities

Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, may be better suited by a new name: Tardiguardians of the Galaxy. Unlike the fictional ragtag team of unenthusiastic heroes, the microscopic animals are providing real insight into how humans could adapt extraterrestrial resources to support space exploration, as well as whether such resources could help protect against the Earthly contaminants that humans might shed. This is according to an international study co-led by Penn State Altoona Professor of Microbiology Corien Bakermans.

‘Water bears’ reveal potential for adapting, protecting Martian resources

Thunderstorms often illuminate the night sky with flashes of lightning. They also seem to make treetops glow and sparkle — although the phenomenon is pretty much invisible to the naked eye. In a study led by Penn State published Feb. 12 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists provide the first direct observations of the weak electrical discharges around trees in nature.

Scientists capture first-ever ultraviolet 'sparkles' from treetops

Penn State researchers have developed a new high-temperature polymer capacitor that can store four times more energy than conventional designs while operating at temperatures up to 482 degrees Fahrenheit. The advance could improve power systems in electric vehicles, data centers, aerospace systems and other high-heat environments where today’s capacitors quickly fail.

New plastic material could solve energy storage challenge, researchers report

A new study offers a look at how the building blocks of life might have originated in the cosmos. Penn State scientists suggest that the amino acids found on the asteroid Bennu did not require warm, liquid water to form, as previously assumed. The team analyzed tiny samples, consisting of roughly 4.6-billion-year-old rocks, delivered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to Earth in 2023.

Radioactive space can host building blocks of life, asteroid samples reveal

Researchers at Penn State say they’ve developed a new hydrogel material inspired by octopus skin that can encode images directly into its structure. The imprinted images then disappear and reappear when the skin is exposed to subtle changes in temperature or a surrounding solvent. The result is a “4D” synthetic smart skin capable of revealing hidden images and shifting surface patterns.

Study: Octopus-inspired material could lead to better camouflage tech

How a new father behaves toward his baby can change family dynamics in a way that affects the child’s heart and metabolic health years later, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.

Early dad's involvement linked to lasting child health, study finds

About half of older men suffer from sleep problems, back pain or both, according to Soomi Lee, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. Lee recently led a study to investigate whether one precedes the other and found that back problems can predict sleep problems years later in men over 65 years old.

Study: Back pain might predict future sleep problems among men

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi was featured in a CEO Magazine interview highlighting her belief in the transformative power of higher education and her efforts to expand access, advance ethical innovation, and strengthen the university’s educational, research, and economic impact.

President of PSU is redefining the power of education to transform lives

A new study led by researchers at Penn State found melanoma case rates tracking higher in counties with higher areas of cultivated land, where the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides can be higher.

Penn State study finds higher incidence of skin cancers in Pa.’s Farm Belt

In a significant advancement for materials science, scientists have successfully created niobium sulfide metallic nanotubes with stable, predictable properties for the first time. An international team, including Penn State researchers, achieved the long-sought feat using an unexpected ingredient—common table salt. According to researchers, the discovery could pave the way for faster electronics, efficient superconducting wires, and future quantum technologies.

Study: Common salt helps create nanomaterial for high-speed electronics

Researchers at Penn State have proposed a novel design for a lithium-ion (Li) battery. It could address the long-standing performance and stability issues of standard Li batteries in extreme temperatures. The design, dubbed the All-Climate Battery (ACB), was developed to fix a core flaw in standard Li batteries.

‘All-Climate Battery’ developed at Penn State could keep EVs running in extreme heat, cold

The discovery of a possible “super-Earth” less than 20 light-years from our own planet is offering scientists new hope in the hunt for other worlds that could harbor life, according to an international team including researchers from Penn State. They dubbed the exoplanet, named GJ 251 c, a “super-Earth” as data suggest it is almost four times as massive as the Earth and likely to be rocky planet.